Cargo

ships

and

coffee

pots:

A

major

William

Kentridge

exhibition

in

Prague

We watch a three-screen film set on a sloping wooden stage that rocks side to side, mimicking the rolling of a ship. The orchestral film by William Kentridge, showing in Prague, is a reimagining of the journey of the cargo ship Capitaine Paul-Lemerle from Marseille to Martinique. It was a ship that transported intellectuals and free-thinkers away from the coming Nazi forces in 1941.

Alongside the nautical nod of a ship’s wheel appearing on screen, there are references to colonialism, slavery and fascism, alongside a resonant musical soundtrack. These are made all the more relevant given his own heritage, as Kentridge is a South African artist of Lithuanian-Jewish descent. Yet there are also playful elements, with his signature coffee pot popping up several times, including one instance in which it replaces Hitler’s head.

His trademark animation style involves charcoal drawings on a single sheet of paper, in which he erases one scene before drawing the next, leaving traces of the previous scene still visible. It was revelatory to hear Kentridge say he used to consider this an error and apologised for it, until someone suggested it’s what makes his work unique, and now he is happy to keep it in.